Superproducer Marley Marl Talks about Hip Hop Biopic 'Vapors'

For fans of old-school hip-hop, Marley Marl's Juice Crew is the stuff of legends. So it really is about time that they got their very own musical biopic. In an interview with VH1 blog, Marl sat down to talk about the upcoming film titled Vapors (presumably taken from the Biz Markie song of the same name) that is set to start shooting this month in Queens, NY. For the uninitiated, Juice Crew were a hip-collective formed by Marl and its members included Roxanne Shante, MC Shan, Biz Markie, and Big Daddy Kane. The group was a way for Marl to highlight his skills as a producer and the group gained notoriety for their high-profile feuds with Boogie Down Productions and UTFO. Marl says that the film is going to be, "--basically me, Big Daddy Kane and Biz's life story leading up to 1988. How we got there. How we made the golden era pop. ... A lot of ups and downs, a lot of personal sh--. It is what it is." Marl, Roxanne Shante and Big Daddy Kane will all serve as executive producers on the film which is being made with Indiefilmx.com

According to Marl, Furqaan Clover has already signed to direct, but it turns out that some of the casting news released back in December might have been a little premature. BlackFilm.com had reported that Cuba Gooding Jr. had already been cast as Marley Marl, rapper-actor David Banner would play the part of Biz Markie, Evan Ross was playing MC Shan, and Jackie Long would appear as Big Daddy Kane. Now Marl tells VH1 that no decisions have been reached yet, and that they will choose, "The best actor possible, --- We gonna tally it up at the end and see who it could be. We need the movie 'Vapors' to make its point, and a lot of the young kids to know what birthed the golden era" -- Amen to that. Vapors is aiming for a 2008 release so start dusting off your Cazals and door-knocker earrings now.